Q & A with Dr. Gowri Anandarajah on spirituality and medicine.

PAWTUCKET – In a conversation on the relationship between spirituality and medicine, Gowri Anandarajah, MD, spoke of her formative years in London as a Hindu educated in schools which incorporated Christian beliefs. This gave her an early perspective on Eastern/Western thought. But it was a singular experience dealing with a critically ill patient as a medical student that ignited her intellectual quest on the role spirituality plays in healing. Subsequently, Dr. Anandarajah has written and lectured on the subject and developed several spiritual care curricula at Brown. She has become nationally known for her scholarly work on the topic. Dr. Anandarajah is currently director of faculty development and the co-director of the faculty development for global health fellowship for the Brown Department of Family Medicine. She served as residency director from 2008–2011. Most recently, her interest in the integration of spirituality and palliative care has led her to Home & Hospice Care of Rhode Island, where she is associate medical director.